DOCSLIB.ORG

North Atlantic Catholic Communities in Rome in the 19Th Century: Appointment and Ecclesiastical Policies of the First Irish-, American- and Canadian-Born Cardinals 

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
North Atlantic Catholic Communities in Rome in the 19Th Century: Appointment and Ecclesiastical Policies of the First Irish-, American- and Canadian-Born Cardinals  Rossella Bottoni (ricercatrice in Storia e Sistemi dei Rapporti Stato Chiesa nell’Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Facoltà di Scienze Politiche e Sociali) North Atlantic Catholic Communities in Rome in the 19th Century: Appointment and Ecclesiastical Policies of the First Irish-, American- and Canadian-Born Cardinals SUMMARY: 1. Introduction - 2. Cardinals and the Internationalization of the Sacred College - 3. The Internationalization of the Catholic Church, the Irish Diaspora and the Transnational Network of North Atlantic Catholic Communities - 4. Appointment and Ecclesiastical Policy of Paul Cullen, the First Irish-Born Cardinal - 5. Appointment and Ecclesiastical Policy of John McCloskey, the First American-Born Cardinal - 6. The First Vatican Council - 7. The 1878 Conclave - 8. Appointment and Ecclesiastical Policy of Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, the First Canadian-Born Cardinal - 9. Final Remarks. 1 - Introduction In the second half of the 19th century, when the Roman Curia was still a monopoly held by Italians and few other European nationalities, the first Irish-, American- and Canadian-born cardinals were appointed within the time span of twenty years. Pius IX raised to the purple Paul Cullen in 1866 and John McCloskey in 1875. In 1886, it was Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau’s turn, created a cardinal by Leo XIII. In the subsequent decades, other Irish- , American- and Canadian-born cardinals were appointed. This development - in a crucial time characterized by the end of the pope’s temporal power - raises important questions: to what extent did the concerned cardinals became ‘Romanized’ and to what extent did they rather contribute to the development of a new vision of their role in the Catholic Church? To what extent did they pursue the interests of their respective national Catholic community, and to what extent did they rather share the same preoccupations and put forward the same demands? In order to answer these questions, I will focus on Cullen, McCloskey, Taschereau, by looking at their appointment and ecclesiastical policies. This essay will first offer some preliminary remarks on the institution This is the revised version, peer reviewed, of a paper presented at the Conference “North Atlantic Catholic Communities in Rome, 1622-1939”, organized by the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, University of Notre Dame, Rome, on 6-7 June 2017. Rivista telematica (www.statoechiese.it), n. 12 del 2018 ISSN 1971- 8543 and role of cardinals and the internationalization of the Sacred College, which should be understood as the entrance of the rest of the world into Rome and as an instrument to promote the ideal of the universal Church1, especially after the end of the pope’s temporal power. This process will be further related to the Irish diaspora and placed in the context of the transnational network of North Atlantic Catholic communities2. The subsequent sections will address the set of questions mentioned above by focusing on Cullen, McCloskey and Taschereau. For the purposes of this paper I will not only focus on their ecclesiastical policies after the rise to the purple, because the ideas supported, the actions carried out, and the government style implemented before the cardinalate are a fundamental factor to explain how they related to Rome, and viceversa. 2 - Cardinals and the Internationalization of the Sacred College The institution of cardinals is currently regulated by Canons 349-359 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law3, but both the meaning of the title ‘cardinal’ (which derives from the Latin cardo)4 and the related functions, rights and duties have undergone transformations over the course of time. Since the 11th century the College of cardinals has provided for the election of the Roman pontiff, and cardinals - either collegially or individually - have assisted him in the government of the universal Church. Distinctive features of the Sacred College have been the prominent political role played by 1 See F. JANKOWIAK, La curie romaine de Pie IX à Pie X. Le gouvernement central de l'Église et la fin des états pontificaux (1846-1914), École française de Rome, Rome, 2007, p. 467. 2 On the opportunity of an approach treating the history of the Catholic Church in North America in the context of the North Atlantic world, see inter alia L. CODIGNOLA, Roman Catholic Conservatism in a New North Atlantic World, 1760-1829, in The William and Mary Quarterly, 2007, LXIV/4, pp. 719-720: “[t]he larger North Atlantic picture […] shows that these church developments in different regions were part of a common attitude, which allowed the Catholic Church not just to survive but indeed to prosper in countries that did not officially acknowledge church members and often legally discriminated against them”. For an assessment of this historiographical perspective, see M. BINASCO, Introduction. Constructing an Atlantic World, in Little Do We Know. History and Historians of the North Atlantic 1492-2010, ed. by L. Codignola, M. Binasco, ISEM-CNR, Cagliari, 2011, pp. 13-26. 3 The English text is available at http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P19.HTM. For the regulation of the 1917 Code of Canon Law (Canons 230-241), see J. F. BRODERICK, The Sacred College of Cardinals: Size and Geographical Composition (1099-1986), in Archivum Historiae Pontificiae, 1987, XXV, p. 63. 4 For an in-depth analysis, see M. ANDRIEU, L'origine du titre de cardinal dans l'Église romaine, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Città del Vaticano, 1964. 2 Rivista telematica (www.statoechiese.it), n. 12 del 2018 ISSN 1971- 8543 cardinals in the respective country of origin and the exercise of a representative function of the respective ‘national’ Church in the 16th-19th centuries, and the decrease in the number of European cardinals in the 20th century5. At this purpose, Broderick wrote in 1987 that “[n]owadays, whenever a pope announces a creation of Roman cardinals, worldwide attention focuses on the resultant size and geographical makeup of the Sacred College”6. Today, the international character of the College of cardinals is given for granted and regarded as truly embodying the Catholic, that is, international character of the Church. However, in the past, the cardinalate was a monopoly of just a few nationalities. In the Middle Age cardinals were selected from a very limited area, and from the modern age till the 19th century approximately 90% of newly-created cardinals were Italians, French and Spaniards7. A change towards a greater geographical composition occurred at the time of the pope’s loss of the temporal power following the extinction of the Papal States, which used to supply a high percentage of candidates. Pius IX and Leo XIII created respectively 123 and 147 cardinals. Although the majority of them were still Italians, French and Spaniards, the College of cardinals started becoming more international. In this essay I will deal with the first Irish-born, American-born and Canadian-born cardinals, but the process of internationalization of the Sacred College concerned other nationalities and countries, as well. For example, in 1875 Archbishop Juan Moreno y Maisonave of Valladolid, born in Guatemala, was created cardinal, and in 1885 the Irish-born Archbishop Patrick Francis Moran of Sydney, and Cullen’s nephew, was also raised to the purple8. This process was the result of a number of factors: the Catholic Church’s expansion in the mission lands, the search for international support in the Roman Question, the pastoral re-orienteering of the Church, and the change in the Holy See’s ecclesiastical policy, aimed at stressing its moral authority9. The first factor is especially relevant for the purposes of this essay. At the beginning of the examined period, Ireland (still part of 5 C. CARDIA, Il governo della Chiesa, il Mulino, Bologna, 2002, pp. 100-101. See also S.E. VAN LIERDE, A. GIRAUD, Le Sénat de l’Eglise. Le Sacré Collège, Fayard, Paris, 1963. 6 J.F. BRODERICK, The Sacred College of Cardinals, cit., p. 7. 7 J.F. BRODERICK, The Sacred College of Cardinals, cit., pp. 15 and 44. 8 J.F. BRODERICK, The Sacred College of Cardinals, cit., p. 62; R. REGOLI, L’élite cardinalizia dopo la fine dello Stato pontificio, in Archivum Historiae Pontificiae, 2009, XLVII, pp. 64-66. 9 R. REGOLI, L’élite cardinalizia, cit., p. 66. 3 Rivista telematica (www.statoechiese.it), n. 12 del 2018 ISSN 1971- 8543 Britain), the United States and Canada were territories dependent on the Congregation de Propaganda Fide, erected on 22 June 1622 by Gregory XV’s Bull Inscrutabili Divinae to promote the spread of Catholicism and regulate ecclesiastical affairs in non-Catholic countries10. While the Provinciae Apostolicae were subject directly to the Holy See, the Terrae Missionum depended on the Congregation de Propaganda Fide11. As noted by Codignola, the Congregation cardinals did not seem to act differently in the different regions of the world within their own jurisdiction, and started showing signs of change only in the mid-19th century12. For present purposes, it should be noted that the Catholic Church’s expansion in the mission lands was especially remarkable in the British Empire, where the Church’s growing importance was epitomized not only by the creation of the first Canadian-born cardinal, but also by the appointment of the first Australian cardinal, as mentioned above13. At the end of the 19th century, the Irish, American and Canadian Churches became more and more structured and organized, and bore less and less resemblance to mission Churches14. In 1908 Pius X withdrew a number of ecclesiastical provinces - including those of Ireland, Canada, and the United States - from the Congregation de Propaganda’s regime15: thus, he changed 10 U. BENIGNI, Propaganda, Sacred Congregation of, in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Robert Appleton Company, New York, 1911, XII, pp. 456-457. See also G.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Archbishop Gaetano Bedini, Alessandro Gavazzi, and the Struggle to Define Republican Liberty in a Revolutionary Age, 1848-1854
    Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2014 Transatlantic Tales and Democratic Dreams: Archbishop Gaetano Bedini, Alessandro Gavazzi, and the Struggle to Define Republican Liberty in a Revolutionary Age, 1848-1854 Andrew Mach West Virginia University Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Mach, Andrew, "Transatlantic Tales and Democratic Dreams: Archbishop Gaetano Bedini, Alessandro Gavazzi, and the Struggle to Define Republican Liberty in a Revolutionary Age, 1848-1854" (2014). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 107. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/107 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Transatlantic Tales and Democratic Dreams: Archbishop Gaetano Bedini, Alessandro Gavazzi, and the Struggle to Define Republican Liberty in a Revolutionary Age, 1848-1854 Andrew Mach Thesis submitted to the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History Brian Luskey, Ph.D., Chair Aaron Sheehan-Dean, Ph.D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Holy See
    The Holy See ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER POPE JOHN PAUL II TO THE RECTOR, STAFF AND STUDENTS OF THE IRISH COLLEGE 28 March 1998 Your Grace, Dear Brother Priests, Dear Seminarians, It gives me great joy to welcome you, the Rector, Staff and Students of the Irish College, accompanied by the Archbishop of Armagh, as you celebrate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the granting of Pontifical Status. I join you in thanking God for all that the College has represented for the Church in Ireland and for the Irish community in Rome since its foundation in 1628, and most particularly in the last half-century. It is enough to recall the names of those connected with the College to have an idea of its rich spiritual and cultural heritage: the founders, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi and Father Luke Wadding; its martyr, Saint Oliver Plunkett; Ireland's first Cardinal, Paul Cullen; and the spiritual writer, Dom Columba Marmion. Their example of holiness and zeal should be an inspiration, especially to you seminarians, as you prepare to make the Gospel better known to the men and women of our time. Your years in Rome enable you to experience at first hand the universal dimension of the Church and to deepen the bonds of communion which unite you to the Bishop of Rome and Successor of Peter. Your understanding of the Catholic faith is enriched through the study of philosophy and theology, the discovery of the Christian monuments of this city, and daily contact with Christians from many lands. As future teachers of the faith, you must be able to face the complexity of the times and be in a position to respond to the fundamental questions affecting people's lives, questions which can only 2 receive a full and definitive response in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (cf.
    [Show full text]
  • Illinois Catholic Historical Review, Volume I Number 2 (1918) Illinois Catholic Historical Society
    Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Illinois Catholic Historical Review (1918 - 1929) University Archives & Special Collections 1918 Illinois Catholic Historical Review, Volume I Number 2 (1918) Illinois Catholic Historical Society Recommended Citation Illinois Catholic Historical Society, "Illinois Catholic Historical Review, Volume I Number 2 (1918)" (1918). Illinois Catholic Historical Review (1918 - 1929). Book 2. http://ecommons.luc.edu/illinois_catholic_historical_review/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University Archives & Special Collections at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Illinois Catholic Historical Review (1918 - 1929) by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Illinois Catholic Historical Review Volume I OCTOBER, 1918 Number 2 CONTENTS Early Catholicity in Chicago Bev. Gilbert J. Garraghan, S. J. The First American Bom Nun Motber St. Cbarles Catholic Progress in Chicago William J. Onahan The niinois Missions Joseph J. Thompson Easkaskia — Fr. Benedict Roux Bey. John Bothensteiner Annals of the Propagation of the Faith Cecilia Mary Toung Illinois and the Leopoldine Association Bev. Francis J. Epstein Illinois' First Citizen — Pierre Gibault Joseph J. Thompson William A. Amberg Bev. Claude J. Pemin, S. J. A Chronology of Missions and Churches in Illinois Catherine Schaefer Editorial Comment, Book Reviews, Current History Published by the Illinois Catholic Historical Society 617 ashland block, chicago, ill. Issued Quarterly Annual Subscription, $2.00 Single Numbers, 50 cents Foreign Countries, $2.50 Entered as second class matter July 26, 1918, at the post office at Chicago, 111., iinder the Act of March 3, 1879 Ml St.
    [Show full text]
  • Archbishop John J. Williams
    Record Group I.06.01 John Joseph Williams Papers, 1852-1907 Introduction & Index Archives, Archdiocese of Boston Introduction Biographical Sketch Scope and Content Content List (A-Z) Subject Index Introduction The John Joseph Williams papers held by the Archives of the Archdiocese of Boston span the years 1852-1907. The collection consists of original letters and documents from the year that Williams was assigned to what was to become St. Joseph’s parish in the West End of Boston until his death 55 years later. The papers number approximately 815 items and are contained in 282 folders arranged alphabetically by correspondent in five manuscript boxes. It is probable that the Williams papers were first put into some kind of order in the Archives in the 1930s when Fathers Robert h. Lord, John E. Sexton, and Edward T. Harrington were researching and writing their History of the Archdiocese of Boston, 1604-1943. At this time the original manuscripts held by the Archdiocese were placed individually in folders and arranged chronologically in file cabinets. One cabinet contained original material and another held typescripts, photostats, and other copies of documents held by other Archives that were gathered as part of the research effort. The outside of each folder noted the author and the recipient of the letter. In addition, several letters were sound in another section of the Archives. It is apparent that these letters were placed in the Archives after Lord, Sexton, and Harrington had completed their initial arrangement of manuscripts relating to the history of the Archdiocese of Boston. In preparing this collection of the original Williams material, a calendar was produced.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church
    The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church The Ecumenical Councils of the Catholic Church A History Joseph F. Kelly A Michael Glazier Book LITURGICAL PRESS Collegeville, Minnesota www.litpress.org A Michael Glazier Book published by Liturgical Press Cover design by David Manahan, OSB. Painting in Kiev, Sofia. Photo by Sasha Martynchuk. © Sasha Martynchuk and iStockphoto. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC, and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner. © 2009 by Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, microfilm, microfiche, mechanical recording, photocopying, translation, or by any other means, known or yet unknown, for any purpose except brief quotations in reviews, without the previ- ous written permission of Liturgical Press, Saint John’s Abbey, PO Box 7500, Col- legeville, Minnesota 56321-7500. Printed in the United States of America. 123456789 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kelly, Joseph F. (Joseph Francis), 1945– The ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church : a history / Joseph F. Kelly. p. cm. “A Michael Glazier book”—T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-0-8146-5376-0 (pbk.) 1. Councils
    [Show full text]
  • Colorado K. of C. Will Train Uy Apostolate
    COLORADO K. OF C. WILL TRAIN U Y APOSTOLATE FINE CAREERS Contents Copyrighted— Permission to Reproduce Giveh After 12 M. fe d a y Following Issue EVIDENCE GUILD Colorado CathoUci regard with great sympathy the battle of Cali* rornia prirate, non-profit schools BY GRADUATES WORK WILL b e to rid themseWes of haring to pay DENVER CATHOLIC taxes. The burden of many Cath­ U C I ' I T CIS v « i n v^ iv. Q j y Q j . olic parishes with schools has been unspeakable. When the writer was in California last fall, he was told FROM LORETTO hy a priest of one of the. large parishes that a check for ^ ,0 0 0 , representing the year’s taxes, had 101 ‘Seculars’ and 63 Religious Have Ob­ just been sent in. Just imagine New National Movement of Order to Get the annual anguish of making up tained Degrees From College a sum like that, on top of all First Start in Diocese of Denver other expenses. The parish in question was going badly into the ^ ; (By Marie McNamara) Colorado took the lead in one of the biggest move­ red. No wonder! The National Catholic Welfare Conference News Service Supplies The Denver Catholic Register. We Have ments being sponsored by the Church in America when In Denver in the month of June several hundreds of Also the International News Service (Wire and Mail), a Large Special Service, and Seven Smaller Services. the state convention of the Knights of Columbus, meeting The chief obstacle in the way high school boys and girls, college men and women, will at Canon City May 28 and 29, decided upon the establish­ of relieving the private schools of be thrust upon the ^orld in the form of graduation.
    [Show full text]
  • Pius Ix and the Change in Papal Authority in the Nineteenth Century
    ABSTRACT ONE MAN’S STRUGGLE: PIUS IX AND THE CHANGE IN PAPAL AUTHORITY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY Andrew Paul Dinovo This thesis examines papal authority in the nineteenth century in three sections. The first examines papal issues within the world at large, specifically those that focus on the role of the Church within the political state. The second section concentrates on the authority of Pius IX on the Italian peninsula in the mid-nineteenth century. The third and final section of the thesis focuses on the inevitable loss of the Papal States within the context of the Vatican Council of 1869-1870. Select papal encyclicals from 1859 to 1871 and the official documents of the Vatican Council of 1869-1870 are examined in light of their relevance to the change in the nature of papal authority. Supplementing these changes is a variety of seminal secondary sources from noted papal scholars. Ultimately, this thesis reveals that this change in papal authority became a point of contention within the Church in the twentieth century. ONE MAN’S STRUGGLE: PIUS IX AND THE CHANGE IN PAPAL AUTHORITY IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of History by Andrew Paul Dinovo Miami University Oxford, OH 2004 Advisor____________________________________________ Dr. Sheldon Anderson Reader_____________________________________________ Dr. Wietse de Boer Reader_____________________________________________ Dr. George Vascik Contents Section I: Introduction…………………………………………………………………….1 Section II: Primary Sources……………………………………………………………….5 Section III: Historiography……...………………………………………………………...8 Section IV: Issues of Church and State: Boniface VIII and Unam Sanctam...…………..13 Section V: The Pope in Italy: Political Papal Encyclicals….……………………………20 Section IV: The Loss of the Papal States: The Vatican Council………………...………41 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..55 ii I.
    [Show full text]
  • The Holy See, Social Justice, and International Trade Law: Assessing the Social Mission of the Catholic Church in the Gatt-Wto System
    THE HOLY SEE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW: ASSESSING THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE GATT-WTO SYSTEM By Copyright 2014 Fr. Alphonsus Ihuoma Submitted to the graduate degree program in Law and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D) ________________________________ Professor Raj Bhala (Chairperson) _______________________________ Professor Virginia Harper Ho (Member) ________________________________ Professor Uma Outka (Member) ________________________________ Richard Coll (Member) Date Defended: May 15, 2014 The Dissertation Committee for Fr. Alphonsus Ihuoma certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: THE HOLY SEE, SOCIAL JUSTICE, AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW: ASSESSING THE SOCIAL MISSION OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE GATT- WTO SYSTEM by Fr. Alphonsus Ihuoma ________________________________ Professor Raj Bhala (Chairperson) Date approved: May 15, 2014 ii ABSTRACT Man, as a person, is superior to the state, and consequently the good of the person transcends the good of the state. The philosopher Jacques Maritain developed his political philosophy thoroughly informed by his deep Catholic faith. His philosophy places the human person at the center of every action. In developing his political thought, he enumerates two principal tasks of the state as (1) to establish and preserve order, and as such, guarantee justice, and (2) to promote the common good. The state has such duties to the people because it receives its authority from the people. The people possess natural, God-given right of self-government, the exercise of which they voluntarily invest in the state.
    [Show full text]
  • Modern Alternative Popes*
    Modern Alternative Popes* Magnus Lundberg Uppsala University The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) is arguably the most important event in modern Catholicism, and a major act on the twentieth-century religious scene at large. On several points, the conciliar fathers made changes in how the Catholic Church perceived the modern world. The language in the decrees was different from earlier councils’, and the bishops opened up for ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, seeing at least “seeds of truth” in other religious traditions. The conciliar fathers also voted in favour of liberty of religion, as meaning something more than the right to practise Catholic faith. A very concrete effect of the Council was the introduction of the New Mass Order (Novus Ordo Missae) in 1969 that replaced the traditional Roman rite, decreed by Pius V in 1570. Apart from changes in content, under normal circumstances, the new mass should be read in the vernacular, not in Latin as before. Though many Catholics welcomed the reforms of Vatican II, many did not. In the period just after the end of the Council, large numbers of priests and nuns were laicized, few new priest candidates entered the seminaries, and many laypeople did not recognize the church and the liturgy, which they had grown up with. In the post- conciliar era, there developed several traditionalist groups that criticized the reforms and in particular the introduction of the Novus Ordo. Their criticism could be more or less radical, and more or less activist. Many stayed in their parishes and attended mass there, but remained faithful to traditional forms of devotions and paid much attention to modern Marian apparitions.
    [Show full text]
  • United States - Vatican Recognition: Background and Issues
    The Catholic Lawyer Volume 29 Number 3 Volume 29, Summer 1984, Number 3 Article 2 United States - Vatican Recognition: Background and Issues Samuel W. Bettwy Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/tcl Part of the Catholic Studies Commons This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Catholic Lawyer by an authorized editor of St. John's Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. UNITED STATES-VATICAN RECOGNITION: BACKGROUND AND ISSUESt SAMUEL W. BETTWY* "A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic . .;[with] some knowledge of these .. .an architect."' In world affairs, the Roman Catholic Church and all its alter egos are known generically as "the Vatican." Its leader is the "Pope," its diplo- matic agent is called the "Holy See," and its independent territory is called "The State of Vatican City." The Vatican participates in interna- tional conferences as well as in bilateral and multilateral treaties with world nations. Nevertheless, the Church is not a state, nor does it claim to be one. On January 10, 1984, the United States became the 107th na- tion and the first superpower to establish reciprocal diplomatic relations with the Vatican.2 Although other attempts had been made, never before t Copyright Samuel W. Bettwy 1984. * Project Editor, American Society of International Law; Member, California and Arizona State Bars and the Bar of the District of Columbia; B.A. Economics, Pomona College; J.D., California Western School of Law; LL.M., Georgetown University Law Center.
    [Show full text]
  • Opening Address of the Ii Vatican Ecumenical Council by Pope Blessed John Xxiii
    OPENING ADDRESS OF THE II VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL BY POPE BLESSED JOHN XXIII Given in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on the first day of the Council 11 OCTOBER 1962 Mother Church rejoices that, by the singular gift of Divine Providence, the longed-for day has finally dawned when – under the auspices of the virgin Mother of God, whose maternal dignity is commemorated on this feast – the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council is being solemnly opened here beside St. Peter's tomb. THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH The Councils – both the twenty ecumenical ones and the numberless others, also important, of a provincial or regional character which have been held down through the years - all prove clearly the vigour of the Catholic Church and are recorded as shining lights in her annals. In calling this vast assembly of bishops, the latest and humble successor to the Prince of the Apostles who is addressing you intended to assert once again the Magisterium (teaching authority), which is unfailing and perdures until the end of time, in order that this Magisterium, taking into account the errors, the requirements, and the opportunities of our time, might be presented in exceptional form to all men throughout the world. It is but natural that in opening this Universal Council we should like to look to the past and to listen to its voices whose echo we like to hear in the memories and the merits of the more recent and ancient Pontiffs, our predecessors. These are solemn and venerable voices, throughout the East and the West, from the fourth century to the Middle Ages, and from there to modern times, which have handed down their witness to those Councils.
    [Show full text]
  • School of Theology - Seton Hall University file:///Volumes/Site%20Backups/Theology%2020090910/Lecture
    School of Theology - Seton Hall University file:///Volumes/Site%20Backups/theology%2020090910/lecture... A CENTURY OF PAPAL REPRESENTATION IN THE UNITED STATES Reverend Timothy M. Dolan Kenrick-Glennon Seminary Archdiocese of St. Louis Archbishop Gerety Lecture at Seton Hall University, October 15, 1992 "Hence we cheerfully sent one who should represent Our Person..." wrote Pope Leo XII in his encyclical Longinqua Oceani1 to the Church of the United States, January 6, 1895, referring to the appointment of the first apostolic delegate, Archbishop Francesco Satolli, just two years previous. That January 21, 1993, will be the centennial of this event suggested the topic of this year's Archbishop Gerety Lecture, "A Century of Papal Representation in the United States." Thank you for the invitation to be part of this distinguished lecture series. For the record, I have dedicated this meagre effort to the preeminent church historian of the United States, Monsignor John Tracy Ellis, my teacher, mentor and friend who, at 87, is now recuperating from hip surgery in Washington, D.C. May the Lord of Truth whom he has served so diligently be close to him in his recovery. I propose to develop this topic under five points. First, I will treat the way the Holy See approached America prior to Archbishop Satolli's appointment; secondly, I will consider the give-and-take surrounding his nomination in 1893; then will come a staccato-like overview of the comings-and-goings of his 10 successors; fourthly, I will take a look at just what, in general, the delegates have done, offering two examples of their activities; and, finally, I will conclude with a segment on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the government of the United States.
    [Show full text]